Hu and Bibgy, in their excellent commentary on our systematic review, raise an important question as to when it is appropriate to combine heterogeneous studies within a single meta-analysis. Since research that evaluates treatments of scabies does not, unfortunately, attract the resources necessary to support large clinical trials, the evidence base in this area is relatively weak. This is despite the identification of important gaps in our knowledge in the original Cochrane systematic review of treatments for scabies published 11 years ago.1